TOP STORIES

February 3, 1997

City manager position

draws 24 applicants

PECOS, February 3, 1997 - Johnny Terrazas and Frank Sanchez submitted their applications for Pecos city manager just before the deadline Friday, bringing the total of local applicants to six.

George A. Holland of Dayton, Ohio, faxed his resume Friday afternoon to become the 24th candidate for the position vacated by Harry Nagel.

Nagel announced his retirement as city manager in November, effective Dec. 31, 1996. Town of Pecos City Council members asked him to stay on as interim city manager and consultant on a contract basis while the council considers the resumes.

Holland said he has 20-plus years of progressive management experience in diversified and administrative positions. He and his wife lived in West Texas for 10 years.

"We found living there to be exciting and the people to be friendly," he said.

Terrazas is a deputy clerk in the Pecos federal court district clerk's office, where he previously administered the docket for U.S. Magistrate Judge Louis Guirola Jr. as courtroom deputy.

Prior experience includes administrative assistant to Mike Harrison in his family businesses; regional manager for an Austin firm as licensed insurance and securities broker; and was bank manager/loan officer for an Austin bank.

Frank Sanchez served Pecos as its first Hispanic mayor in 1984-86, then worked 10 years for Texas-New Mexico Power Company. He has also been a part-time community supervision officer for the 143rd District Court since 1988 and was a caseworker for the Texas Department of Human Services.

He served three years in the U.S. Army as a non-commissioned officer and as captain in the Civil Air Patrol.

Sanchez said he is employed by Pecos-Barstow-Toyah ISD and his contract runs through May.

If chosen for this position, I would not be available until June 1, 1997," he said.

The other local applicants are:

- Steve McCormick, city finance officer;

- Tom Rivera, Pecos Chamber of Commerce manager;

- Len Smallwood, former BTCI officer and test track manager;

- Victor Thompson, former engineer with T-NP;

The remaining 17 applicants for the city manager's job are:

- Ken Goslee of Springfield, Mo.,

- Richard Jorgensen of Odessa,

- Raymond H. Kendall of Gainesville,

- Thomas Henry Caffall of Burleson,

- Thomas Walton Winder of Brady,

- Kenneth L. Neal of Anson,

- Kent R. Van Eman of Brenham,

- K.M. Waterstreet of Electra,

- Thomas E. Donaldson of Llano,

- William H. Lewis of Edna,

- Deck Shaver Jr. of Fritch,

- Kyle H. McCain of Denton,

- Stephen K. Shutt of Colorado City,

- Jim Allan of Canon City, Colo.,

- Andrew A. Wayman of Fort Worth,

- Corrin J. McGrath of Corpus Christi and

- Randall Ellis Holly of Farmersville.

The council has yet to set a timetable for interviewing candidates or making a final decision on filling the vacancy.

hearing marijuana case

Israel Maldonado-Gonzalez is charged with conspiracy to import and possess marijuana for distribution on Oct. 29, 1996. Two of his co-defendants are expected to testify for the government.

Pascual Levario-Quiroz, a Redford resident, will go on trial Tuesday. He is accused of entering the United States at a location not designated as a port of entry and of bringing in a weapon.

He has served a prison term for killing a Mexican state policeman and recently fled across the Rio Grande under a hail of police bullets after allegedly shooting a rival in the drug business at Presidio.

Wednesday's civil trial involves a young paraplegic who seeks damages from General Motors Corporation after being injured in a pickup accident.

Rubio trial first as DA for Reynolds

PECOS, February 3, 1997 - District Attorney Randy Reynolds began jury selection this morning in his first criminal trial since taking office Jan. 1.

In that 143rd District Court trial, Oscar Rubio is charged with burglary of a habitation owned by Salvador Lozano on June 10, 1996.

Jeff Parras represents the defendant before District Judge Bob Parks.

Cotton harvests in 1996

varied widely for region

From Staff and Wire Reports

PECOS, February 3, 1997 - Timely late summer showers on the South Plains turned what could have been a disastrous Texas cotton crop into an average one statewide, though the results varied wildly from region to region.

The results were far lower in northern sections of the Permian Basin, while numbers for the Trans-Pecos region show yields to be about the same overall as in 1995.

``We're about 70 miles from a bumper crop,'' said Donald Long, who ginned about 11,000 bales this winter - a quarter of what he normally processes as manager of the Farmers Cooperative Association gin in Stanton, 20 miles northeast of Midland.

In the High Plains region Long pointed to, things went much better. That West Texas region, which normally produces about half the state's cotton, outdid itself with 3.1 million bales, or 75 percent.

The region even set a production record with 615 pounds per acre planted, although about 800,000 acres normally reserved for cotton didn't go into production last spring because of drought and harsh May wind storms.

In the smaller Trans-Pecos region, which includes Reeves and Pecos counties, the number of acres planted was reduced in 1996, but the amount ginned was up from the previous year.

Alamo-Kerley Gin owner-manager Don Kerley said in late December that despite the decrease in acreage, they put Upland bales ginned at about 9,500, up slightly from last year. Pima acreage was also down, but unlike Upland the final total of 3,474 bales for Alamo-Kerley was also under last year's count.

Coyanosa Co-op has ginned 6,500 bales of Upland this year.

Overall, Texas cotton growers produced 4.35 million bales last year, according to recently released estimates by the Texas Agricultural Statistics Service.

That's not far off the 1995 number of 4.46 million bales, an average number for the nation's No. 1 cotton patch.

``The big rains in September sent up all kinds of red flags,'' said James Supak, cotton expert for the Texas Agricultural Extension Service in College Station. ``There could have been an early frost, but it was warm and sunny after that, so the crops were able to utilize the water and turn all that into a good yield.''

The 18.6 million bales produced nationally in 1996 ranks as the third-best production year in United States history. Texas easily remained the U.S. cotton king, besting California's output of about 2.8 million bales.

Timely rains in the region around Lubbock and northward allowed producers to make three bales per acre, more than twice their average yield in some cases.

The rain fell too late in the northern sections of the Permian Basin - Midland, Martin, Howard, Mitchell and Glasscock Counties, where Long says many farmers could be down to their last year in the business if it continues to stay dry this year.

``It was kind of a feast or famine year here,'' said Shawn Wade, spokesman for Plains Cotton Growers. ``I talked to a friend of mine down there (Permian Basin area) who said that this was the first year he didn't make any cotton and didn't gin any either.

``What that means for him is 18 months between paychecks, and that's pretty tough.''

Many Rio Grande Valley growers, still fuming about the boll weevil eradication program they abandoned last year and intrigued by high grain sorghum prices, planted just 220,000 acres, 139,000 fewer than the year before.

Associated Press text, photo, graphic, audio and/or video material shallnot be published, broadcast, rewritten for broadcast or publication orredistributed directly or indirectly in any medium. Neither these APMaterials nor any portion thereof may be stored in a computer except forpersonal and non-commercial use. The AP will not be held liable forany delays, inaccuracies, errors or omissions therefrom or in thetransmission or delivery of all or any part thereof or for any damagesarising from any of the foregoing._